the stars do not hold our destiny
by Cookies and Ink
Summary: There to interview Sybill Trelawney, Minerva McGonagall is able to oblivate Snape's memory of the prophecy. Will this change the future or is Harry's destiny inevitable? The Potters are determined to fight either way and do what's least expected.


**A/N:** Written for Round 8 of QLFC Season 7. I'm Chaser 3 for the Montrose Magpies. All prompts listed in the bottom AN. Hope you enjoy.

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**the stars do not hold our destiny**

The room was silent after Sybill Trelawney's prophecy. The scatterbrained woman blinked, coming back to herself with quite clearly no memory of what happened. Albus, of course, handled it the way he always did, hiding the truth with a warm smile and making decisions without anyone's consultation.

The fact that the woman could predict the future did not mean she could necessarily teach it, Minerva thought to herself but no doubt Albus would want to protect the Seer against darker forces.

A slight noise outside had her on her feet and drawing her wand. Both of the other people in the room looked surprised and she had to assume they hadn't heard. One of the many benefits of being an animagus was heightened sense.

"One moment Sybil," Albus said as she got to her feet. Minerva left him to stall as she slipped outside, casting a silent spell. The stairs leading up to the attic room of the Three Broomsticks creaked and transfigured, twisting and rising upwards to create a solid wall. Severus Snape slammed against it, barely catching himself from running headfirst and then spun. She looked over him, the boy who had let himself be ruled by others and felt her heart grow heavy.

Perhaps Severus would have always gone down a dark path. Even as a young student he had had the predictivity to it. Thanks to the Death Eaters infesting the school, however, swaying vulnerable and angry teens was becoming easier and easier.

He raised his wand, his face twisting into a snarl.

Minerva cast first.

"Obliviate."

* * *

James Potter's lips twitched and Minerva gave him such a stern glance that he found himself biting his tongue on an automatic 'Sorry Professor'. Instead, he reached across and took Harry out of her arms, again trying not to laugh as she visibly relaxed.

"Not a fan of babies?" he asked, unable to help himself.

"The first time I held a baby I was a young girl and did accidental magic, giving the bald newborn a sudden head of hair. Green hair." James was delighted as his old Transfiguration teacher spoke and his body shook with suppressed laughter. The last thing he wanted to do was wake up Harry who was teething and so particularly fussy but whenever Minerva spoke about her childhood the stories seemed to get better and better.

Lily caught the end of the story as she walked into the room and opened her mouth to ask a question but James noticed Minerva's smile drop at the sight of her. Having the Professor over for tea was quite common. Having her appear close to midnight wasn't and now Lily had made her way downstairs, dressed in pyjamas with her hair pulled into a messy bun, he braced himself for the bad news she had to deliver.

"A prophecy?" James repeated dully after everything had been explained. He looked at the sleeping baby in his arms and curled them tighter around his son. Lily was questioning the validity of prophecies and wondering how the future could be set in stone but James didn't really care about that. Future telling was old magic and it always came true.

His mind raced, trying to think of different options and ways to protect his family even as a small part of him whispered how proud he was that his son was going to grow up to be the one to defeat one of the most powerful wizards in history.

"What does Dumbledore want to do?" James asked finally and both women turned to look at him.

"He thinks you should go into hiding."

James didn't need to even look at Lily to know she didn't like that idea.

"I do not think it's your best option either," Minerva continued. "Perhaps it is the safer one but it is also the more obvious thing to do. We do not even know if the prophecy is about you. The Longbottoms are another family that it could be referring to."

"If no one but us knows about the Prophecy then shouldn't we just pretend nothing's happened?" Lily guessed. "I'm fairly sure I'm being watched at work, if we start acting strangely we may pique someone's interest."

They spent the night brainstorming. Lily put Harry to bed with a kiss on his forehead as the first snow of winter started to fall outside. Downstairs magic crackled in the room, heating it without anyone trying. Sat around the kitchen table were three of the most powerful and clever witches in Britain, all focussed on one thing.

Protecting a baby boy that destiny had chosen.

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Lily had grown used to snow thanks to Hogwarts and then Godric's Hollow which was much further north than his family home down in the south of England. At least she thought she had until she stepped out of the front door and sank into snow deep enough to go halfway up her thigh.

Baby Harry giggled as she swore loudly enough some words echoed around the stone farmhouses around her.

"I'm going to do it today Harry, then the weather can sod off," Lily said firmly, casting more warming charms over herself than was strictly necessary. She had taken a few weeks off work to facilitate the move from Godric's Hollow to a small homestead on a Hebdrian island that Minerva owned (how she came to own an island neither Lily or James had managed to get out of her so far), and everything had been fine.

Fine until the magic imbued in the house already reacted to their more modern charms and wards and now things were going a little haywire.

Last night James had been trapped in the pantry for two hours and neither of them was sure why.

Old spells mixed with new were notoriously temperamental and before he had gone to meet Sirius before work, James had tentatively suggested that Lily take down some of the ones she had put up. But Lily refused to live in a house that didn't have warmed floors in this weather, never mind sticking to candlelight.

She was an expert at spell creation. She could make their magics blend with the stubborn older spells that had sunk into the stones over centuries.

"Bloody Scots," Lily muttered.

She left Harry warm in the house covered in protective charms with a portkey by him and another in her pocket so she could get right back to him if there was a need and then she trekked out to the edges of the wards five minutes away.

Putting her hands out slowly, Lily closed her eyes and reached for the wards. The ones around Hogwarts typically felt warm to the touch and inviting whenever she'd tried to find them. The ones around the homestead, on the other hand, stung, like she was gripping a thistle. Still, Lily didn't let go.

She was exhausted when it finally worked but eventually, the wards softened and Lily blinked, dazedly. It had started to snow again and she rushed home before belatedly realising that no snowflakes had fallen on her.

The magic had accepted them. It wasn't just protecting them, it was allowing them to make this collection of cottages in the middle of nowhere a home.

She sang as she picked up Harry. Never in her wildest dreams could Lily have predicted that she would be living on a northernmost island in the British Isles but here she was. Her son had a prophecy to his name and whilst Lily felt fear at the thought, she swung Harry around until he started laughing again.

Maybe the future was already foretold.

That didn't mean they would make it easy for destiny to take hold of their lives.

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**A/N:** If this felt rushed to it it's because I wrote it in under an hour. But it is what it is and I'll admit I'm rather intrigued to see what would happen next. I'm leaving it as a one-shot for now but maybe in the future, I'll explore this AU.

Prompts Used: CHASER 3: Ace of Swords — Upright: Breakthrough, Clarity, Sharp Mind.  
Optional Chaser Prompts: (season) Winter, (character) Minerva McGonagall), (quote) "Once a future is foretold, that future becomes a living thing, and it will fight very hard to bring itself about" — Legendary, Stephanie Garber

The title is also inspired by a quote from William Shakespeare: 'It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but ourselves'


End file.
